Five frightfully fantastic tactics for Halloween email

What do you fear most? Spiders? Zombies? Wicked witches? Or perhaps the thing that strikes terror into your very soul is the prospect of missing out on a great deal.

For the majority of us level-headed types (who know the spider lurking in the corner isn’t really out to get us, honest…) fear isn’t normally what pushes us into making a sale, but it can be an effective way of getting your message across. So this Halloween, take our hand and we’ll navigate the haunted house of Halloween email marketing tactics together.

Killer subject lines

“Today is your last chance… to get 50% off!” Do you see how simple and effective those few words are?

If your customers are desperate to buy that jumper they spotted in your sale, but have left it until the last minute, FoMO (Fear of Missing Out) might just be what they need to convince them to click that “buy now” button.

Sinking further into the human psyche, “last chance to buy” offers or “limited availability” messages imply that your products are popular and likely to be gone soon, so if they don’t buy it now, it’ll be too late! Utilise this to your advantage in your next email campaign.

Spine-tingling content

If you think your brand or product couldn’t possibly tie into a Halloween-themed campaign, think again.

Halloween is when the prankster in us all comes out, presenting a fantastic opportunity to have a little fun with your campaign and create something slightly tongue-in-cheek. Much like this blog, you can see how easy it is to gently tweak your copy into something a little more spooky. An easy way to assess this is to take your images away and see if your copy contains enough Halloween-related keywords to tempt your readers in.

A fantastic example of this is Fortnum and Mason, who have really pulled out all the stops with their latest Halloween offers, producing a page laden not only with beautiful, themed imagery but also catchy subheadings and even a little back story on each of their Halloween characters. It’s fun, eye-catching and topical.

Treats (without the tricks)

In a non-creepy, lurking-in-dark-alleyways type of way, your campaign insights will provide you with vital information about your customers’ behaviour and habits. Utilise your previous campaign insights and single customer view to surprise your customers with an exciting offer or campaign that’s highly relevant to them and is also too good to miss. Your customers will be spooked to see how well you know them!

Creepy campaigns and social media spooks

Another top tip is to utilise horror movie themes to resonate with movie fans; your clever trick might even become a viral treat.

Take the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in America, where a simple zombie apocalypse campaign (used to teach the importance of emergency preparedness) went down so well that it crashed their server and has enjoyed over one million blog views and five million downloads. They covered the campaign on all channels; creating social media sharing buttons and an e-card.

While we don’t want you to end up with the nightmare of a crashed server, the creativity of this campaign is exactly what you should be aiming for.

Face your fears

The majority of visitors to your website will be hampered by fears, doubts and uncertainties, just like any horror movie newbie. According to a study by KISSmetrics, 96% of first-time website visitors aren’t ready to buy. So how do you help your customers conquer their fears and make a purchase?

Including testimonials in email campaigns can help with validation and demonstrates social proof, proving that your company is popular and trustworthy. Show them that you’re not a Frankenstein’s monster by including reviews and testimonials on your next email campaign!

We’re coming to that time of year where seasonal events can be used to improve relevance with event-triggered emails. Halloween is a time for pumpkins and pranks, so have fun with your email campaigns, engage with your customers and show them your true character – warts and all. Focus on your imagery, content and tone of voice, without neglecting the fun!

Whether your goal is to increase your open rates, engagement rates or conversions, a themed campaign can really work to scare up some sales! Happy Halloween!